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The U.S./Saudi Arabia Genocide of Yemen for Greed and Power

(This is a picture of skeleton thin children starving in Yemen. You'll have to use your imagination or search the internet, I don't have the stomach for it right now.)

(Note: I've got a little 6 month old grandson visiting for the holiday. When I saw the picture of the starving child in Yemen, I saw his eyes looking at me. Angry? You bet.)

"This war is a battle for the soul of Islam and it’s going to have to be the Muslim countries who are stepping up. These are billionaire families all over that region. They’ve got to get their hands dirty. They’ve got to get their troops on the ground. They’ve got to win that war with our support. We cannot be leading the effort.”Bernie Sanders 2015

I've never been a Ron Paul fan because of his selfish libertarian views, (like I've never been a Sanders fan because of his selfish imperialist views) but it's hard to argue with many of his "foreign policy", i.e., U.S. imperialism, views and opinions.

His latest article is titled, "Why Are We Helping Saudi Arabia Destroy Yemen?" I would have probably titled that to ask why is the U.S. government ("We" I want no part of) committing genocide in Yemen. But he makes some good and flat out infuriating points in his article.

No, Washington Post, it’s simpler than that. The tragedy in Yemen is the result of foreign military intervention in the internal affairs of that country. It started with the “Arab Spring” which had all the fingerprints of State Department meddling, and it escalated with 2015’s unprovoked Saudi attack on the country to re-install Riyadh’s preferred leader. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and millions more are at risk as starvation and cholera rage."

He's absolutely right. As usual, the .01% owned 90% corporate media monopoly helping rule this country completely lies and obfuscates the reasons why people are dying and suffering in Yemen. It is simple, all wars are simple in the end. Power and greed.

What is happening in Yemen is in real time. It is happening NOW. We don't have an excuse of looking back, like with the attempted genocides in Rwanda and Iraq, of saying if only we knew. What is happening in Yemen is common knowledge now, like all U.S. directed wars, thereby making excuses ludicrous.

"The UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs warned just last week that Yemen faces "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims." The Red Cross has just estimated that a million people are vulnerable in the cholera epidemic that rages through Yemen.

And why is there a cholera epidemic? Because the Saudi government – with US support – has blocked every port of entry to prevent critical medicine from reaching suffering Yemenis. This is not a war. It is cruel murder."

I've had a few short debates with Trump supporters, including one right here at C99, and I've tried to point out that Trump is now a war criminal murderer who belongs in prison for the rest of his miserable life. Nothing else matters. Murder trumps jobs, trumps trade agreements, trumps anything, it's the way it is with humans. I did the same thing with Obama supporters not long after Obama's first term started. Obama had continued the wars and imperialist actions started under Bush which became evident very early in his first term and not long after he criminally accepted the Nobel Peace prize. Trump has done the same thing.

I think the thing people need to focus on is that the President is also the Commander in Chief (CINC) of the Armed Forces of the United States. During war time, the CINC has enormous responsibilities that whether led by the nose or not, is the CINC's and the CINC's alone. That's the system, that is the responsibility this system gives to the President of the United States.

So there is no excusing presidents Obama and Trump regarding the actions of the U.S. military, intelligence and security apparatus serving the One Percent. The U.S. government involvement in Yemen and responsibility for the murder of millions of people falls first and foremost on the POTUS/CINC. Plenty more are to blame and should be held accountable including but far from limited to, the corporate media monopoly that purposely lies and fabricates propaganda to the American public and our own Congress and Senate that refuse to acknowledge the war crimes happening on their watch.

Trump, as with Obama, knows full well the lies behind the war in Yemen and that the actions of the U.S. are illegal under international law and in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution. The entire Congress and Senate knows it too, they're just too chickenshit to do anything about it. They are ALL responsible for genocide.

"The claim that we are fighting al-Qaeda in Yemen and thus our involvement is covered under the post-9/11 authorization for the use of force is without merit. In fact it has been reported numerous times in the mainstream media that US intervention on behalf of the Saudis in Yemen is actually a boost to al-Qaeda in the country. Al-Qaeda is at war with the Houthis who had taken control of much of the country because the Houthis practice a form of Shi’a Islam they claim is tied to Iran. We are fighting on the same side as al-Qaeda in Yemen."

Ron Paul points out how the U.S. Congress, outside of a few outliers,
is totally bought and paid for by those behind this war and rightly points out the significance to this country.

"US involvement in Saudi Arabia’s crimes against Yemen is a national disgrace. That the mainstream media fails to accurately cover this genocide is shameful. Let us join our voices now to demand that our US Representatives end US involvement in Yemen immediately!"

It is a fucking national disgrace. Not the only one either, in fact our government itself is a national disgrace, from Trump (or insert Obama, Bush and Clinton before that) to the Senate and Congress. The blood on all on their hands is unwaveringly cruel and sadistically opportunistic.

The support of the evil Saudi "government" by our government is despicable beyond measure. If there was any justice in this world, both governments, en masse, would be brought up on genocide charges at the International Criminal Court.

All I can say to those who try to make excuses for those who are aiding and abetting this genocide, particularly Trump, Obama and the duopoly political parties, as well as the corporate media, Saudi Arabia and whoever else is involved, is Fuck You. And stop, it's a fucking disgrace.

Comments

and I too didn't post them on here. It's so incredible that the world leaders are staying silent on this genocide.

I remember when Bernie said this in one of his interviews
The author of this article wanted the interviewer to ask him this question:Can you possibly be serious about wanting to keep the wars going but have Saudi Arabia play a bigger role? Do you approve of Saudi Arabia dropping U.S. cluster bombs on Yemen?
This is when I started asking people what they knew about his foreign policy views and if they did, then what was the difference between him and Her? I'm sure you can imagine their replies.

Thanks for writing this essay. The never again is still happening, and not only in Yemen. The future of Fallujah is bleak because our military used depleted uranium bombs. Babies there are being born with horrible birth defects and unfortunately, they didn't die at birth.
I have a picture with a six of them with a photo of Cheney in the middle with his quote, ""I have no regrets."
Two of the babies were born with their brains outside their skulls and they look to be 2-3 years old and one with only one eye.
Cancer rates have gone up by over 50% and I'm sure that there are other illnesses that are not being reported.
How many cities in the other countries we bombed are experiencing this after they had seen so many people in their cities die?

Absolutely! They have the blood of millions on their hands and anyone who supports them can Fuck Off. This especially goes to people who are saying that they want Obama to be president again.
I certainly remember being called an Obama hater when I commented on what he was doing in the Middle East.

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You know you’re a peasant when you worship the very people who are right now, this minute, conning you and giving you shit. Whatever the master does, you’re on board. Doh!

@snoopydawg
"fuck you" in the essay as it could be viewed as pretty wide ranging. I almost took it out so as not to offend. But then I go back to the pictures and the FACTS and it just has to be said. Like you said, never again is happening right now and our own government is as responsible as anyone.
And like I said, our Congress and Senate are culpable, they know exactly what is going on and they know that's it illegal and unconstitutional. Any congress person or senator that says otherwise is lying or a complete fucking idiot.

and I too didn't post them on here. It's so incredible that the world leaders are staying silent on this genocide.

I remember when Bernie said this in one of his interviews
The author of this article wanted the interviewer to ask him this question:Can you possibly be serious about wanting to keep the wars going but have Saudi Arabia play a bigger role? Do you approve of Saudi Arabia dropping U.S. cluster bombs on Yemen?
This is when I started asking people what they knew about his foreign policy views and if they did, then what was the difference between him and Her? I'm sure you can imagine their replies.

Thanks for writing this essay. The never again is still happening, and not only in Yemen. The future of Fallujah is bleak because our military used depleted uranium bombs. Babies there are being born with horrible birth defects and unfortunately, they didn't die at birth.
I have a picture with a six of them with a photo of Cheney in the middle with his quote, ""I have no regrets."
Two of the babies were born with their brains outside their skulls and they look to be 2-3 years old and one with only one eye.
Cancer rates have gone up by over 50% and I'm sure that there are other illnesses that are not being reported.
How many cities in the other countries we bombed are experiencing this after they had seen so many people in their cities die?

Absolutely! They have the blood of millions on their hands and anyone who supports them can Fuck Off. This especially goes to people who are saying that they want Obama to be president again.
I certainly remember being called an Obama hater when I commented on what he was doing in the Middle East.

@Big Al
while you are putting that essay together maybe you can tell us as individuals what you think it is that we can do to stop this shit now. I for one don't have a clue. Anyway Happy Thanksgiving and if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving then just have a Happy day.

C99 is no different. I think in my next essay I'm going to analyze why that is.

#2 while you are putting that essay together maybe you can tell us as individuals what you think it is that we can do to stop this shit now. I for one don't have a clue. Anyway Happy Thanksgiving and if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving then just have a Happy day.

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2 users have voted.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

starving black African children, you know, the media has used them so often that my reaction today to those images is to question why the authors post them in their articles? I think people are beyond their capabilities to be upset looking at these pictures. They are accepted as "a given", they are "awful", they would say, but that's it. Other than those verbal reactions they have no influence.

Same thing is true for the awful images that smoking can do to your body. No smoker would get upset because of those images, when they open their cigarette packages. The images have no influence at all. Visual shock therapies have outlasted their usefulness.

What I agree with you is this:

Nothing else matters. Murder trumps jobs, trumps trade agreements, trumps anything, it's the way it is with humans. I did the same thing with Obama supporters not long after Obama's first term started. Obama had continued the wars and imperialist actions started under Bush which became evident very early in his first term and not long after he criminally accepted the Nobel Peace prize. Trump has done the same thing.

I think the thing people need to focus on is that the President is also the Commander in Chief (CINC) of the Armed Forces of the United States. During war time, the CINC has enormous responsibilities that whether led by the nose or not, is the CINC's and the CINC's alone. That's the system, that is the responsibility this system gives to the President of the United States.

So there is no excusing presidents Obama and Trump regarding the actions of the U.S. military, intelligence and security apparatus serving the One Percent. The U.S. government involvement in Yemen and responsibility for the murder of millions of people falls first and foremost on the POTUS/CINC. Plenty more are to blame and should be held accountable including but far from limited to, the corporate media monopoly that purposely lies and fabricates propaganda to the American public and our own Congress and Senate that refuse to acknowledge the war crimes happening on their watch.

Trump, as with Obama, knows full well the lies behind the war in Yemen and that the actions of the U.S. are illegal under international law and in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution. The entire Congress and Senate knows it too, they're just too chickenshit to do anything about it. They are ALL responsible for genocide.

Who else is just too chickenshit to do anything about it? The EU member countries? You tell me. I can't follow the chicken-shitters anymore. There are too many of them in sheep clothes.

maybe someone can explain it to me.
War for the sake of war, war for a Prince to consolidate his power, El Trumpo swearing on the Glowing Orb of Doom to go to war with his Wahabi brothers (did he have any idea what he was doing?), endless war to line the pockets of the MIC, Shiite vs. Sunni, etc. etc. Sure.
But why genocide? Why what is clearly becoming a war of extermination? This isn't about control of people or territory, this is about depopulation. Do the Saudis plan on relocating their people to Yemen? Is there fresh water and food production to be seized, and they don't want to waste it on the natives? Or is there some other reason for extermination?

and have a hypothesis.
One of the referenced articles mentioned that Yemen imports 90% of its food. So KSA isn't going to be annexing it for its food production.
According to Wikipedia, population of KSA is 33 million, population of Yemen is 27 million. Wikipedia also says "Yemen could become first nation to run out of water".
There are likely reasons that KSA wants to go to war with Yemen (they have oil, for one thing). But why go all the way to a war of extermination?
KSA is looking at a poor nation adjacent to theirs, no natural border other than open desert, with a population 80% as large as theirs, that can't feed itself. If they can wipe out Yemen's population before the world food markets dry up they eliminate a critical refugee problem before it starts. They might even be able to raise a little food to bring back.
Yes, this is the sort of calculus I think nation states are doing these days.

@WoodsDweller
just the Shia. KSA wants to be the regional hegemon over compliant Sunni states.

and have a hypothesis.
One of the referenced articles mentioned that Yemen imports 90% of its food. So KSA isn't going to be annexing it for its food production.
According to Wikipedia, population of KSA is 33 million, population of Yemen is 27 million. Wikipedia also says "Yemen could become first nation to run out of water".
There are likely reasons that KSA wants to go to war with Yemen (they have oil, for one thing). But why go all the way to a war of extermination?
KSA is looking at a poor nation adjacent to theirs, no natural border other than open desert, with a population 80% as large as theirs, that can't feed itself. If they can wipe out Yemen's population before the world food markets dry up they eliminate a critical refugee problem before it starts. They might even be able to raise a little food to bring back.
Yes, this is the sort of calculus I think nation states are doing these days.

@dervish
So you're saying that this isn't a broad genocide, but an ethnic cleansing? Makes sense, I suppose. Wikipedia says 44% are Sunni, so they are targeting around half the population, they will obviously miss some and have some collateral damage among the rest of the population. Maybe so.

#6 just the Shia. KSA wants to be the regional hegemon over compliant Sunni states.